Brake hanger bracket



March 19, 1940. D M. LIGHT BRAKE HANGER BRACKET Filed Jan. 23, 1937' j nus/@ 024" Patented Mar. 19, 1940 BRAKE HANGER BRACKET David M. Light, Chicago, Ill., assignor to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, 111.; a corporation of New Jersey Application January 23, 1937, Serial No. 121,948

26 Claims. (01. 188-209) My invention relates to railway rolling stock and more particularly to an improved method of attaching and securing brake beam hangers.

Numerous designs of wear plates and securing means for brake beam hangers have heretofore been constructed and most of them are of a character which permit play or vibration between parts which is accentuated as wear takes Place. An object of my invention is to design a brake hanger securing means and wear plate which will retain the brake hanger in a vibration-free position and which will automatically compensate for the wear which normally occurs on the brake hanger.

A further object-of myinvention is to design a brake hanger wear plate which will fit within the brake hanger jaw normally provided and entirely enclose the front opening of said jaw.

My invention further comprehe'nds a resilient go form of brake hanger support which will restrain vibration and play between the brake hanger and associated parts.

My novel design of hanger is so formed that it may be replaced when the parts have become 35 excessively worn and likewise it is readily removable to permit the replacing of the brake hanger itself.

with these and various other objects in view, my invention may consist of certain novel fea- 30 tures of construction and operation as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the specification, drawing and claims appended hereto.

In the drawing which'illustrates a preferred embodiment of my invention and wherein like reference characters are used to designate like Darts- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a brake hanger bracket embodying my invention;

0 Figure 2 is an end elevation of the brake hanger structure shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of my novel form of brake hanger wear plate;

Figure 4 is an end elevation thereof; and

45 Figure 5 is a side elevation.

Describing the structure in more detail, the truck frame member 2 has the integrally formed brake hanger bracket 4 comprising the usual upper and lower jaws 6 and 8, respectively, form- 50 ing therebetween the U-shaped slot l0 within which is to be supported the usual brake hanger l2 in the form of a loop having the top member l4 with its upper surface It, cylindrical in form, and its lower surface l8, likewise of cylindrical u shape. The surface I8 is seated on the complementary surface 20, generally cylindrical in form, of the wear plate 22 hereinafter more fully described. The wear plate 22 comprises the lower arm 24 upon which it is seated and the upper arm 26 having resilient bearing against the upper jaw 6. Securing means is provided for the wear plate 22in the form of the U-shaped member or hairpin cotter 28 which extends through the openings 30-30 of the upper jaw and the aligned openings 32.32 of the lower jaw as well as 10 through the similarly aligned openings 34-34 in the top member 28 of the wear plate and the corresponding openings 3636 in the bottom member 24. The projecting ends of the securing member 28 may be bent in opposite directions as at 38 and 40 to prevent removal.

The wear plate 22 is shown in greater detail in Figures 3, 4 and 5. It is preferably formed of hardened wear-resisting-spring steel plate bent to generally loop-like form with a bottom member 24, generally flat but up-turned slightly at the end as at 42 to conform to the throat portion of the brake hanger jaw. The upper member 26 is looped up and over the lower member 24 and its projecting end is generally hooklike in form as most clearly shown in Figure 5. The upper or seating surface 20 is generally cylindrical in form and complementary to the surface l8 of the upper member l4 of the brake hanger l2, thus providing a bearing or seat therefor. The upper member 26 of the wear plate is flanged over at the edges as at 4444, the said .flanges "-44 projecting on opposite sides of the brake hanger jaw as most clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2, and the end of the lower memher 24 is received between the flanges 4444 as most clearly shown in Figure 4. The flanges 44-44 join the main portion of the member 26 in a smooth curve as most clearly shown at 45-45 (Figures 3 and 4), thus making a smooth fit as at 41 with the adjacent surface of the hanger i2 where the upper member l4 of the hanger l2 merges into adjacent portions thereof.

As above indicated the entire wear plate is formed of resilient wear-resisting material and is designed to fit snugly within the throat formed between the upper and lower jaws of the brake hanger bracket. In assembled position the resilient wear plate will be under some slight compression between the said jaws, the upper and lower members 24 and 26 having slightly greater spread before assembly than after. This difference is illustrated in Figure 5 where the phantom lines indicate as at 48 the position assumed by the lower member 24 after assembly. The hooklike end, which provides a bearing seat for the upper member l4 of the hanger, presses firmly thereagainst, forcing said member l4 up against the inner wall of the upper jaw 6 as at 48. This firm engagement of the member l4 between the inner wall of the upper jaw 8 and the seating portion 20 of the wear plate 22 prevents play eration. Furthermore the wear plate 22 serves to close entirely the opening between the upper and lower jaws 6 and 8 of the brake hanger bracket 4.

Experience has shown that nearly all of the wear in a brake hanger occurs as a result of vibration and is not occasioned by application of the brakes. As a rule when the brakes are applied friction between the shoe and the wheel urges downwardly the brake shoes on the forward sides of the wheels and upwardly on the rearward sides of the wheels. Where the shoes are upwardly urged, bearing occurs between the hanger supporting member l4 and the upper throat of the bracket as at 46. The very small amount of wear which occurs here, however, indicates that most of the wear is the result of chattering, so-called, or vibration which usually occurs between the hanger and the throat of the bracket or between the hanger and a wear plate commonly inserted in the throat to reduce said wear.

It is practical and I have so designed my resilient wear plate that the force by which the hanger is urged upwardly against the upper throat of the jaw of the brake hanger bracket is between two and three times the weight normally supported by a hanger, Experiments have indicated that over rough track the greatest jolts received amount to about twice gravity. In other words, under the most unfavorable operating conditions my resilient wear plate would be required to support a hanger rod between two and three times that of the dead weight of the parts and since my resilient wear plate is so designed, it will prevent the hanger from oscillating up or down under ordinary operating conditions and will eliminate a great portion of the wear which occurs. When the brakes are applied as the wheels are moving in one direction, the downward pull of the hanger l2 will force the seat on the top member 26 of the wear plate downwardly into engagement with the lower member thereof. Release of the brakes will then permit the said top member 28 to move upwardly free of said bottom member under the urge of the inherent resiliency of the wear plate, thus urging the hanger l2 into engagement with the top of the brake hanger jaw as at 46 as previously described and in which position chatter of the parts is prevented. If the brakes are applied with the wheels moving in the opposite direction. the resultant force will urge the brake hanger i2 upwardly against the throat to the brake hanger jaw as at 46 and the position of the top member 26 of the resilient wear plate will not be affected.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited by the exact embodiment of the device shown, which is merely by way of illustration and not limitation, as various and other forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim: I

1. A brake hanger bracket of the jaw type hava wear plate seated therein and comprising resiliently joined top and bottom members, said bottom member having engagement throughout its length with said bottom wall and said top member having engagement with said top wall adjacent the front thereof and being spaced therefrom inwardly thereof to provide seating means for a brake hanger, and a brake hanger seated therein.

3. In a railway car truck the combination of a truck frame comprising a member with an integrally formed brake hanger jaw having top and bottom walls, an open end, a wear plate seated in said jaw and having engagement with said top and bottom walls and serving to close said open end, securing means for said wear plate, said wear plate comprising resiliently joined top and bottom members, and a brake hanger seated on said top member and urged thereby normally into engagement with said top wall.

, 4. In a railway car truck comprising a frame member, a brake hanger jaw integrally formed therewith, said jaw having an open end and open sides, a wear plate seated in said jaw, securing means for said wear plate, and a brake hanger seated on said wear plate and resiliently supported thereby.

5. In a railway car truck the combination of a truck frame member having a brake hanger bracket of the open sided and open ended jaw type, a wear plate seated therein and serving to close said open end and comprising top and bottom walls, and a brake hanger bracket resiliently seated on said top wall and urged thereby normally into engagement with the upper wall of said bracket.

-6. In a railway car truck the combination of a truck frame comprising a member having a brake hanger bracket with a jaw, said jaw having an open front and open sides, a wear plate positioned in said jaw and serving as a closure for a truck frame comprising a member having a brake hanger bracket with an open ended and open sided jaw, a wear plate seated in said jaw and comprising top and bottom walls, said wear plate serving to close the forward end of said jaw, securing means for said wear plate, said securing means permitting resilient movement of said upper wall with relation to said lower wall, and a brake hanger seated on said upper wall.

8. In a railway car truck the combination of a truck frame member having a brake hanger bracket of the jaw type, a wear plate in said jaw, securing means for said wear plate, said wear plate comprising a bottom wall, a top wall, resilient means joining said top and bottom walls, and positioning means on said top wall for resiliently supporting a brake hanger.

9. A railway car truck comprising a frame member having a brake hanger bracket of the jaw type, a wear plate seated therein, securing means for said wear plate, said wear platecomprising a bottom wall, a top wall, and resilient means joining said walls, said top wall having arcuately shaped seating means for a brake hanger, and a brake hanger seated therein.

10. A railway car truck comprising a frame member with a brake hanger bracket of the jaw type, a wear plate seated therein, said wear plate comprising resiliently joined top and bottom walls, brake hanger seating means on said top wall, and a brake hanger seated in said seating means and resiliently supported by said wear plate.

11. A brake hanger bracket comprising a jaw having open sides and an open end, a wear plate seated therein and serving to close said open end, securing means for said wear plate, said wear plate having seating means on the top wall thereof and a brake hanger seated therein and resiliently supported thereby.

12.- A brake hanger bracket comprising a jaw having an open end and open sides, a wear plate seated therein and closing said open end, said wear plate comprising resiliently joined top and bottom walls, seating means on said top wall, and a brake hanger supported on said seating means.

13. A brake hanger bracket having a jaw with open sides and an open end, a resilient wear plate seated therein and closing said open end, securing means for said wear plate, a brake hanger seat on the upper wall of said wear plate, and a brake hanger seated therein.

14. A flexible wear plate for a brake hanger bracket having a loop iorm closed at the outer end, said wear plate comprising resiliently joined top and bottom walls, means in said walls for engagement with securing means, and a seat for a brake hanger on said upper wall.

15. A brake hanger bracket of the jaw type, a wear plate seated therein, and a brake hanger seated on said wear plate and resiliently supported thereby normally in engagement against the upper wall of said jaw.

16. A brake hanger bracket, a wear plate seated therein, and a brake hanger resiliently supported on said wear plate, said brake hanger normally having engagement with the upper wall or said bracket.

1'1. In a railway car truck a brake hanger bracket, a wear plate seated therein and comprising integrally tormed top and bottom members and a brake hanger resiliently supported on said top member.

18. A brake hanger bracket comprising a jaw having an open end, a wear plate seated therein and serving to close said open end, and a brake hanger bracket resiliently seated on said wear plate.

19. In a railway car truck a brake hanger bracket of the jaw type and a flexible wear plate seated in said jaw and serving to close the open end thereof, said wear plate comprising a top member with a brake hanger seat.

20. A brake hanger wear plate comprising resiliently joined top and bottom members, and a hanger seat in said top member, said seat being normally out of engagement with said bottom member but designed to abut thereagainst under maximum load.

21. A brake hanger wear plate comprising resiliently joined top and bottom members, said top member being normally free of engagement with said bottom member but designed to abut thereagainst under conditions of maximum load.

22. A flexible brake hanger wear plate having a closed outer end and a top hook-like member downwardly curved to receive a brake hanger.

23. A flexible brake hanger wear plate having a top hook-like member with an inner end downwardly curved to form a seat for a brake hanger.

24. A flexible brake hanger wear plate comprising a top member forming a resilient support for a brake hanger.

5. A flexible brake hanger wear plate with top and bottom members integrally joined at their outer ends, said top member having a seat for a brake hanger at its inner end.

26. A brake hanger bracket of the jaw type having an open end, a flexible wear plate seated therein to close said open end, said wear plate having a top wall downwardly curved to form. a resilient support for a brake hanger.

DAVID M. LIGHT. 

